Delusional Requiem
by KeruKeru
Summary: Matt can't escape his losses, especially when they continuously return to haunt him. Will Tai be able to break through Matt's arrogant, stubborn exterior and protect the broken boy that's been hurting for years? Can Matt overcome his hallucinations and find the line between real and fantasy? Eventual Taito Yaoi Don't like, don't read. M for language
1. Chapter 1

**1. A Regular Cacophony**

**KeruKeru: Hello all you Digimon fans. ^-^ Yes, I'm back with another Taito. I'm not going to give too much away with this one, but I'll say that Matt is very-much based on the main character of a show I just love called Perception. If you've ever watched it, you'll understand his character, if not, then I hope you enjoy this story to its fullest. :3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.**

**Warning: Eventual yaoi, boy/boy. Don't like, don't read.**

* * *

"Now Matt, it's your first day, can you at least TRY to act enthused?" Hiroaki Ishida pleaded with his son who was sat next to him in the passenger seat of their family sedan. "I know how much you dislike other people, but please try to make a good first impression."

The boy's stare was cold, lifeless and unwavering from the spot to which it was glued; at the moment it appeared he was leering at a dashboard A/C vent. His arms clenched around the shoulder bag which was now home to brand new school books and binders, all the tell-tale signs of a student's first day. The only response Matt allowed his father was a light rustle of his belongings, not wanting to use his voice.

"Please Matt, try to make some friends." Slowly, the sedan pulled in front of Odaiba High School's front doors, or rather a drop-off zone near the front doors. As soon as the car came to a stop, the blonde teenager unbuckled and proceeded to leave. "Do you want me t-…" Before Hiroaki could finish asking his son if he wanted him to go inside with him, the door behind the blonde slammed shut as he walked with the school bag still clenched to his chest as if he'd die without it. "Nancy… why couldn't you have stayed…?" Speaking to nobody in particular, Hiroaki started the engine back up and made way for the job he'd be transferred to Odaiba for; working at the local TV station.

Behind the large, metal double doors, no student could be seen as Matt's father had dropped him off late on purpose so the boy wouldn't be disturbed. To the main office he strode, loosening his grip slightly on the school supplies in his fist.

A soft bell shot a shiver up the sixteen year-old's spine as he entered, the only other noise came from the typing of a woman on her keyboard. Peeking over her thick-rimmed glasses, she smiled carefully. "You must be Yamato." She'd heard tell of the new student, as had most of the staff, some of whom passed it along to their students and so on. "I have your schedule all ready for you." Her smile was caring and sincere, one that would make you want to come to the main office.

"Thank you…" It was a mere whisper, but she heard nonetheless and handed over a piece of paper with a time table on it. The current time being 10:34, Matt was supposed to be in his third period World History class.

"Do you need any help finding the room, dear?" It was that secretary again, speaking calmly just in case this be another of the boy's "fit days" as his father referred to them. A light shake of the head and he was off.

Aimlessly striding through the halls, the blonde's cerulean eyes were glued to the floor, not even paying attention to room numbers as he glided by. His appearance in many a door window set whispers ablaze like wild fire, all pertaining to this new student that had arrived and if the rumors were actually true.

Due to his eyes being only on the floor, some miracle had allowed the Ishida to decipher his exact destination and, thus, enter it without fail.

"As you can see, cla-…" Noticing his class suddenly turn their heads from their phones, the lesson or the window in the room, the plump male teacher with a thinning scalp followed suit, eyes coming to rest on this reclusive new boy before him. "Ah, class, this is Matt Ishida. Please greet the class, Matt." Without so much as a gesture, Matt practically jogged for the furthest seat in the back, leaving a stunned teacher behind. "O… kay… As I was saying…"

Drowning out the teacher was the sudden influx of whispers between students, all pertaining to this strange new student who didn't even bother to offer a hello for interrupting their lesson. Who does that? Two notable gossipers were a girl with orange hair and glimmering light-brown irises as well as the boy she was speaking to, whom had brown hair that was up as if it were on fire, held at his forehead by a pair of goggles. His eyes, though also brown, seemed deeper and less "overjoyed" compared to the girl's.

"What's _his_ damage?" The brunette boy spoke, attempting and failing at not making his watching of the new blonde obvious.

The red head didn't bother to make eye contact as she knew instantly who her friend was referring to. "If the rumors are correct, he was locked up in an insane asylum after murdering his entire family with a steak knife."

"Sora… that sounds more like something Mimi would believe." The brown-eyed athlete pointed out, referencing their absent pink-haired comrade. "Besides, he's too cute to be a murderer."

"Wow, new kid's first day and he's already given the soccer captain a hard-on… not that it's that difficult to do." Sora snickered, eyes gleaming with immaturity.

Tai rolled his eyes, being the one between them that would know if he had a boner. Currently, the status was "no-go". "You make it sound like anything with a dick makes me horny." It wasn't until the soccer player had finished his statement that he realized the entire room had gone quiet and his former whisper now seemed to echo throughout the room.

"Mr. Kamiya… a-anything you'd like to share with the class?" Their teacher seemed flustered, not looking directly at Tai, but to his red headed neighbor.

"With all due respect, sir, but I think I already shared it with the class." A few students chuckled, others smiled at the Kamiya's joke.

However, Matt Ishida gave no response to the words spoken at all; not even offering a glance in any direction. The boy was having a staring contest with his desk just as he'd done on the way to school with the car's dashboard. _Juvenile buffoons. All of them. It's as if sex is nothing but a minor detail in this world. Pious assholes._ Well, if that wasn't the pot calling the kettle black.

Saving Matt from his classmates, or to some, saving them from the blonde, the lunch bell rang, signaling the end of third period.

Teenagers filed from the World History class in no particular fashion, only the blonde and teacher left sitting in the room. Both exchanged a rather awkward moment of eye contact; the Ishida's steely blue eyes seemed to pierce the teacher's very soul before the boy rose and exited. Again, that shoulder bag was clasped in his grip, tightly held to his abdomen and chest as he walked into the hallway.

Matt's body began shaking immediately. His eyes darted from one source of unadulterated noise, a slamming locker, to another being chatting, giggling blonde girls whose IQ would shock most people for the wrong reason. Shivering uncontrollably, Matt's hand darted for his pocket, digging inside, searching for something of importance.

He produced an iPod, jamming the ear buds in as if they couldn't go in fast enough. His body quivered all the more as the noises around seemed to intensify with time. The blonde pressed play and blasted the music at full volume, soon melting into the world of Beethoven's 6th symphony. A hand shot up instantly from the blonde, swaying in time with the music only he could hear. Before him were stands with rows of violins, clarinets and a whole assortment of instruments as well as the people who played them. Those in the orchestra followed his fluid gestures, completely in time as they'd always been. As the instruments would dim, so would Matt's hand, which he imagined grasping a baton with.

Students watched this boy as he strode down the hall, eyes closed, hand waving. People were pulled, pushed, or moved out of his way on their own; it was as if he'd contracted the plague. A circle of about two feet was around the boy at all times, nobody wanting anything to do as they scooted into one another rather than accidently bump him. This kid just got weirder and weirder.

Matt's own world remained uninterrupted as his journey to the cafeteria continued without fail. He was too immersed in his "composing" to realize he was about to run into someone in particular.

"Tai, look out!" A yelp came too late before the still brunette was rammed in the back by one distracted blonde. The two toppled over, Matt on top of the brunette, breaking his concentration.

The disturbances to the peace, they were everywhere again. Even over the music Matt could hear people talking at an excruciating volume. Without so much as a word, the blonde rose from the floor and dashed away to the boy's bathroom. Finding an empty stall almost immediately, he locked himself within and tried to return to his woken dream, shivering uncontrollably in the process.

On the other hand, Tai was still reeling from his encounter with the blonde, too stunned for the moment to realize who'd even hit him. "What happened…?" A hand was offered to him and he took it, himself and the owner both pulling to get him to his feet. The hand belonged to a blunette boy who was a year older than Tai and wore glasses over his obviously intelligent eyes.

"That new kid just rammed into you. He wasn't even paying attention; and then he ran off before you came to." The older boy resolved to omit the part of the story that had Matt "conducting". "He seemed pretty rattled, like someone had messed with his head."

"Sora tried to tell me earlier that he was locked up in an insane asylum after murdering his entire family." Both males scoffed.

"Sounds more like something Mimi would believe."

"That's what I said!"

"What would I believe?" Tai jumped about three feet from the sudden upbeat voice behind him. Said voice belonged to a rather fashion-savvy teenage girl with pink hair and red highlights on her roots. "You guys are making fun of me again, aren't you?" She crossed her arms over her chest; pouting with a face she knew would force the blunette to comfort her.

"Of course not, sweetie!" The eldest of the three cooed, hugging the pink-haired girl and kissing her forehead.

"Joe, you're such a sucker…" Tai blanched at his friend's reaction to the girl's—obviously his girlfriend—reaction to their teasing. "Besides, we both know she'd fall for it. OW!" At the end of his sentence, Joe had reached over and thumped the soccer player on his forehead, still hugging Mimi.

"What does he think I'd fall for, Joe?" The pink hair's "sad puppy dog" face was too much for Joe and he just opened up completely.

"Tai thinks you'd believe that the new kid was in an insane asylum for killing his entire family?"

"You mean… he wasn't?" The unbelievable shock on the girl's face was too sincere for Tai that he couldn't help but bust out laughing. "You don't have to laugh, Tai…"

"Don't listen to him. C'mon, let's go get some lunch." Arm around the girl, Joe began leading her towards the lunch room, leaving Tai to his laugh attack.

* * *

Meanwhile, Matt had finally ceased his frightened shiver, seated in the bathroom stall as his hand once again waved for the orchestra to follow suit in their playing. Trumpets blared, oboes blew, cymbals banged when needed. All was well in the world only Matt could see before him.

The instruments gradually grew softer as the blonde commanded until there were no sounds left. Matt selected another song from his classical selection. Something by Bach, perhaps. This piece was strictly piano and nothing else. It successfully drowned out the noise of the outside world as he stepped from the stall, soon entering the hallway outside.

Matt packed his own lunches because he didn't trust government-controlled school lunches, positive they were filled with microscopic tracking chips or increased amount of hormones to pump children full of.

Opting to sit outside, the musician found a shady spot, far enough away from other students that he wouldn't be bothered by their nonsensical chatter. Bach's piano concerto continued in the back of his mind, any other noises losing out.

* * *

As the day progressed, students grew increasingly wary of this strange new student. He was constantly walking about the halls between classes, waving his hand about in the air. Every now and then he'd whack his hand against someone and not even apology doing so. While in class, he'd gaze blankly at his desk and not even speak when called on. If he didn't speak, which was almost an impossibility, it'd be in a soft monotone without so much as an inflection.

Whispers followed Matt even until he was picked up by his father who had to bring the boy home and immediately return to work to finish for the day.

Currently, the boy had sprawled out on his new bed, staring blankly at the ceiling while he was lost deep in thought about the events of the day.

"Hi Matt!" A cheerful voice piped from nowhere in particular. Matt tilted his head to find a young boy, about six, with blonde hair and blue eyes that matched him almost perfectly. "How was your first day of school?" The youngster grinned, missing a tooth from his smile.

"There you are, TK!" The eldest sat up, smiling for the first time that day as he stared down at his brother. "I guess it was alright. I don't like school… too many stupid teenagers." He scoffed, feeling the younger boy climb up to sit on his bed.

"But Matt, that's mean! You're a teenager too." TK reminded, kicking his legs as he couldn't reach the ground. "Besides, daddy told you to make friends!"

"I know…" Hiroaki would be relieved to know his son HAD heard him this morning. "But it's hard… Especially with… the way I am." TK was the only person he would talk to. Even a psychiatrist Hiroaki had hired long ago got nothing out of the teen.

"I don't see what's so wrong! You talk to me, after all." TK grinned once more, Matt couldn't fight back the chuckle at the hole in his brother's mouth.

"Your tooth should be coming in soon." He changed the subject.

TK attempted looking at his mouth, feeling the blank space with his tongue and giggling. "I hope the tooth fairy brings me some money soon!"

"I'm sure she will." Matt informed the six year old. "How were you while I was gone?"

"Booooored!" TK whined, flopping back on the bed and making Matt bounce the slightest bit. "It's not fun! I miss you too much!"

"I miss you too, buddy. Oof!" The blonde was suddenly grabbed into a hug by his younger brother.

"Promise me you'll always come back, Matt." The little boy's blue eyes stared pleadingly into his brother's, lonesomeness evident in their gleam.

"I promise, TK. I'd never leave forever." He swore.

"Matt?" A door closed somewhere in the apartment, the gruff voice of Hiroaki coming from wherever it was. Soon, the man was standing at his son's door, gazing at the teenager who appeared to be hugging air. "Matt, what are you doing?"

"I'm just talking to TK." Hiroaki was grateful to see that smile on the boy's face, but it would short-lived.

"Matt, there's nobody else here…" Blue eyes filled with fright as the boy suddenly looked back to his arms and found them empty of one six year old boy.

"Just go…" Matt's mouth pressed into a hard line, eyes and face returning their previously emotionless state.

Hiroaki nodded, leaving the door ajar as he left his son to his thoughts and proceeded to watch TV in the other room.

The musician laid himself down once more, glaring at the ceiling above him this time, already missing the boy he'd hallucinated. _And so it begins…_

* * *

**KeruKeru: Okay, so if anyone can guess the illness Matt has and puts the answer in their review, they'll get free internet cookies from me. :3 If I somehow told anybody what it was, please don't cheat. :P Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Delusional Requiem. Please review. ^-^**


	2. Chapter 2

**2. Rejected Duet**

**KeruKeru: Hello everyone. :3 Here I is with chapter 2. So, for everyone that didn't get it, Matt is schizophrenic. If you didn't know, don't feel bad. I was surprised at how many people actually did know, to be honest. But I suppose I gave a rather big hint with my Perception comment, if you've seen the show. Anyway, I'm hoping to go much longer with this fic than If I Could Hear Your Voice because I have—in my view—a really good plot figured out. It won't be like lots of my other fics where it's five chapters and they're together because Tai REALLY has to work to get to Matt, not to mention that they haven't spoken yet. I'm rambling now. :P**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Also, Kasumi, Ringo, Chikao and Ryu belong to the wonderous Psycho Weasel. I am using them because we've given each other permission to use our OCs. My band characters for her soccer characters. ^-^**

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In the last week, progress had come about with Matt's reaction to the bane of his existence: teenagers. His father had begged for him to make friends, but the blonde only promised he'd eat IN the school building rather than outside. Begrudgingly, Hiroaki had agreed, not wanting to push the matter further. So, ear buds in place and music blaring at eardrum-destroying decibels, Matt was sitting alone at a lunch table that was practically pushed to the corner of the cafeteria, as if just for him. Hand waving at the orchestra to conduct Beethoven's 5th symphony, he took a minuscule bite of his sandwich and swallowed immediately, not wanting to break the trance.

"That kid is seriously weirding me out." A few tables away, a boy with brown, wavy hair and green eyes leaned his chair back on two legs, crossing his arms over his chest as if it would solve some sort of problem. "All he does is sit there and… do that thing with his hand. He barely eats; never talks. I mean seriously, what's with him?!"

"Calm down, Ringo. It's not like his actions affect you in some way." A tan, black-haired boy shot at the other mockingly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a crush on blondie over there~" The lewdness in the tan boy's voice made Ringo shiver.

"As much as you'd enjoy it, Ryu, I don't swing your way." Some might have taken his tone to hold a hint of malice, but to Ryu, it was just the wavy-haired boy showing affection… at least he thought so. "The kid's just weird, alright?" Ringo grumbled under his breath.

"Hey guys!" A rather cheery voice called, the owner approaching the table with a lunch tray full of goodies. "What are you talking about?" Tai Kamiya pulled a seat out and sat without permission, as if he needed it.

"Ringo's love for the new kid." Ryu teased more, receiving a death glare from his wavy-haired friend.

"Ryu, stop." The rather quiet retort came from the shyer boy of the four, sitting next to Ryu, but otherwise easily forgotten without speaking; sandy blonde hair atop his head. "You didn't like when people first made fun of you." As usual, the one time he speaks he's the voice of all reason.

"Why do you always have to ruin my fun, Chi-san?" Ryu literally dimmed, imagining his torment going through their 9th grade year after successfully coming out of the closet. "Besides, I found you and that made it all better." He placed a chaste kiss to the blonde's cheek, the skin heating up and turning red instantly from embarrassment at their public display of affection.

As much as their little show may have over-joyed the girls walking by, it made Tai and Ringo want to vomit. "God… you two are so sweet, it makes me sick." Ringo stuck his tongue out.

Ryu smirked. "Funny, considering someone can't keep his tongue out of his girlfriend's mouth. Where is Kasumi, by the way?" It was always the black-haired boy to push everyone's buttons, sometimes by accident.

"She's at home, sick, if you MUST know." Ringo fired back, saddened by his girlfriend's absence.

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty." Tai held up both hands for the two bickerers to quit. Both boys rolled their eyes, returning to their food. "Not that we're on the subject anymore, but why do you think Ringo's in love with the new kid?"

"Because he won't stop talking about how everything the kid does pisses him off." Ryu answered before Ringo could even open his mouth, luminescent green glaring at him.

"I never said it pissed me off, I just said it was weird." The wavy hair defended himself, slumping in his chair. "Don't put words in my mouth."

"Well, I've gotta admit, the kid's pretty cute, albeit, he's a little weird." Tai shrugged, munching on a burger he'd bought from the school, tasteless as ever. "I wouldn't mind showing him the ropes~" The soccer captain smirked, picturing rather vile things in his head.

"Tai, you're such a horn dog." Ryu pointed out. "I thought not everything with a dick turned you on?" The black-haired boy smirked.

"You need to stop talking to Sora…" Tai blanched, another bite of his burger gone. "That girl can't keep anything to herself."

"Not to mention the entire class heard you, not just Sora." Ryu grinned triumphantly, having proven his captain wrong. "If you think he's so cute though, why not go ask him out?"

"Cuz he might go after Tai with a knife." Ringo piped up, the tone of annoyance remaining from his and Ryu's little back-and-forth earlier. "Not really worth it to risk your life for a date."

"I think you're jumping to conclusions a bit, Ringo." The blonde at their table finally added. "What do we actually know about him? Aside from him being anti-social, I don't think anything qualifies him to be a murderer."

"It's always the quiet ones, Chikao. In fact, how do we know YOU'RE not a murderer?" Ringo attempted to corner the blonde, not succeeding in the slightest.

"Because I'd be in juvie and not here." He just had an answer for everything. "Besides, he seems harmless. Aside from bumping into Tai and not apologizing, I don't think he's completely insane. Just mildly…" Chikao pondered for a moment, trying to find a better word than "insane".

"Mental?"

"Psychotic?"

"Retarded?"

"He's just mildly unstable." The blonde offered, ignoring the other, rather rude suggestions to complete his sentence.

"I guess you're right, but if he even so much as glances at Tai the wrong way, I'm gonna kick his ass." Ringo was really nothing but empty threats and false danger.

Tai chuckled, pushing his chair out to stand up. "I think I can handle myself, tough guy." He picked up his tray, thinking up his most charming lines to use on the boy who'd caught his interest. "If I need help, I'll yell." And he strolled passed table after table of teenagers, some conversations dying down to whispers as the school's ace soccer captain made his way to sit with the new kid who'd been dubbed a family murderer.

Without permission, Tai sat at the next-to-empty table, directly across from his only companion. Matt's hand waved in the air as usual, the other having joined it by now as he needed both hands to command the rows of suited performers. He'd given up on eating as the music increased in tempo and volume. "Hi." Tai offered. The blonde's eyes were closed and Tai could hear the music from his ear buds over the racket around them. "Hello?" Still, it wasn't enough to break through the delusional requiem of the boy's mind. As a third attempt, Tai picked up a fruit snack from his lunch and lobbed it at the blonde, hitting him square in the forehead. Blue eyes shot open immediately, the illusion having melted away as soon as an outside force had acted. Tai waved at the newly-opened eyes, finding himself entranced by the deep cerulean.

Those eyes of the musician became frantic, the sound of the outside world suddenly seeping in again as he tried to close them and return to his fantasy. Another fruit snack hit his forehead before the ensemble had a chance to reform. "WHAT?!" He snapped rather loudly, glaring with intense sapphires at this annoying, familiar looking boy before him. Where was he from again?

Tai couldn't help but to cower slightly from the tone that had been used against him, this being the only time he'd ever heard the blonde speak. "I just wanted to say hi. Name's Tai."

"I don't care." Matt closed his eyes again, giving up on getting back into his commanding of the music, only wanting to drown out the external noises. "Leave, now."

Tai smirked, staying seated as he was just to rile the boy. "So, I noticed you were sitting all by yourself and thought maybe you'd want a friend?" A friend was the last thing either one of them wanted at the moment, but both desired very different things.

"No." Matt spoke as little as possible, not even offering a glance to the odd-haired boy across from him. What was his name again? Tai? Why wouldn't this Tai leave?

"Well, if you don't want to be friends, maybe you'd like to go out with me some time?" Tai was smooth when it came to getting guys to go out with him, he always had been since he realized he was gay. "How about it? Dating the soccer captain might boost your popularity… Matt was it?" He vaguely remembered their teach speaking the blonde's name in class.

Finally opening his fierce eyes, the blonde glared deeply into the brunette's soul and took a breath, readying himself for the coming monologue. "Let me tell you something, TAI." The name dripped venom as he said it with such revulsion. "You are just like every other jock at every other school. You care only about yourselves and what you can shove your dicks into. Popularity is only third on your list of desires so long as you can find something to fuck. If I wanted to stoop to someone of your level, I'd date one of your friends, at least they'd have a quarter of a brain." And with that, Matt stood and took his lunch bag to the trash, clutching his school bag against his body as per usual.

Stunned that someone had actually denied a date with his "Excellency", Tai sat back, eyes wide. Nobody had ever not wanted to go out when he'd asked. Something really must have been wrong with this kid. How dare he reject Tai Kamiya! But… something about the rejection just made Tai want the boy all the more. He'd never been spoken to in such a way and it was what made the brunette's flame for Matt burn brighter.

* * *

"What the hell's with that kid?" Ringo blurted as they three soccer players watched Matt escape their captain. "I told you he's weird. Nobody sane would get out of dating Tai. Nobody!"

"Well, there goes Tai's ego." Ryu chuckled, making a sound like a balloon deflating. "Give up, Ringo. Obviously, that kid's got higher standards than Tai can match. For all we know, he could be straight." For once, the black-haired boy had been the voice of reason.

Chikao silently munched on a French fry. "Tai'll find someone else. There are plenty of guys for him to date."

"Just so long as he doesn't hit on my Chi-san." Ryu grinned at his successful try at making his lover blush again, the blonde averting his eyes. "You make it so easy, love."

Ringo leered past the two males at his captain, the wild-haired boy standing with the most dejected look on his face. "Here he comes, play it cool." The wavy-haired warned.

"So, Tai, how'd it go?" Ryu was the first when their still-shocked captain had returned, staring wide-eyed at his partially eaten hamburger.

"He said no…" Tai's mind was still back at the other table, reliving his tongue lashing from the blonde. "And he said all I cared about was finding something to fuck…" The brunette couldn't exactly deny that statement though.

"There are other guys, boss. Ones that actually have their heads screwed on right." Ringo reminded.

"Yeah… I guess…" The soccer captain responded without thinking.

* * *

"He actually said that to you?" A certain red head gasped softly as her best friend relayed his lunchtime excursion with the blonde from their World History class. "First time he talks to you and he says that… that kid's got SOME nerve. Want me to beat him up?" School had let out and, currently, Tai and Sora were making their way to their homes.

Tai rolled his eyes at the girl's response. "You don't have to be so dramatic about it. Believe me, if I wanted to beat him up, I'd do it myself." Honestly, the soccer player couldn't get the blonde out of his head. Every few minutes he'd replay the words Matt had snapped at him, over and over they went. It was starting to drive him mad as well as making his desire for the boy grow all the more and it hadn't even been four hours. "I can't get it out of my head, though."

Sora stared at her friend, surprised at his words. "You can't get the offensive words of some random kid out of your head after having barely spoken to him for five minutes?" The red head sighed. "Tai, what's wrong with you?"

"I don't know! Nobody's ever spoken to me like that before. Nobody's ever said no to being asked out by me before… I just keep thinking about what he said to me. I can't stop thinking about it and the fact that he DIDN'T want to go out with me makes me want to date him all the more." Tai slumped his shoulders and let out a disgruntled sigh. "Sora, you're suppose to be good with love, what's going on with me?"

"Sounds like that whole "you can't have it, so you want it" scenario." Tai shot her a look that said "well, duh". "Think about it like this. If your parents said you couldn't play soccer anymore, you'd want to disobey them because they told you no and you'd stop at nothing to play it. This sounds like the same kind of thing. And knowing you, it'll be a LONG time before you give it up. You're like a dog with a bone… Pffffffffffffff! HAHAHA!" Sora couldn't hold back the laughter at her own joke, not fully realizing how comedic it was for the situation until actually having said the words.

"Haha, very funny. But I'm serious. If I don't get him to go out with me, how bad am I going to get?" Tai was worried for his health at this point. "Like… am I gonna get to the point where I'm cutting off fingers and sending them to him?"

"EW! Tai, no! Why would you even think that?" Sora increased the distance between them by as much as she could without walking into the street. "If you feel like you're about to go overboard, just stop and think to yourself what you're about to do. If you're about to cut off your fingers, I'd see a therapist."

"I guess that's good advice…" Tai thought over Matt's words for what had to be the millionth time that day. That therapist was starting to sound really good right now.

* * *

**KeruKeru: So, a bit shorter than the last chapter, but this was all built around Tai asking Matt out and Matt rejecting him, so most of it was just filler, really. I've noticed that a lot of this has been about Tai more than Matt, but the next chapter will go more in depth with Matt as well as his hallucinations. So, please review if you enjoyed it. ^-^**


	3. Chapter 3

**3. Memoir of a Mirage**

**KeruKeru: Hello, Keru here with chapter 3. :) So, I've been getting really good feedback from my reviewers. I'm really glad to hear you guys are enjoying this fic so far. I hope it lives up to your expectations for the future. I have yet to properly thank her, Psycho Weasel, for both allowing me to use her characters and for assisting in the creation of the title for this story. I came up with the possible titles, and she helped me narrow it down to Delusional Requiem. So, thank you Psycho. ^-^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, obviously.**

* * *

"_TK, please put your seatbelt on the right way!" A blonde woman of about thirty or so pleaded with her youngest son, trying to keep her eyes on the road while cajoling the boy to keep himself safe. "We'll be there soon and then you can take it off." She insisted, eyes slipping from the road for nanoseconds and returning immediately._

"_But mommy! It hurts my neck!" The six year old whined, the strap of his seatbelt, meant to go over his chest, was between his back and the seat behind him. "Can I _please_ just leave it until we get to grandma's? I promise I'll wear it right from now on." His young-boy cuteness was too much for his overly-stressed mother and she conceded._

"_Alright…" She watched the boy in her rear-view mirror, tearing her eyes back to the road. "Matt," She made her eldest son, who'd been staring out the window on the opposite side of the vehicle, jump from the sudden mention of his name. "Could you please make sure TK stays safe?"_

_Matt nodded. "Sure mom." The nine year old loved his mother. She was the most important person in his life, right next to the brother he loved and protected from anything. "Besides, we're almost to grandma's anyway." He was confident that nothing would happen._

"_TK, promise mommy you'll wear your seat belt right on the way home." Again, her eyes were on the middle mirror of the Toyota Scion instead of the road._

"_I will mommy, I promise." He plastered the most adorable, boy-ish smile across his face._

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING ! _"Ooh! That's probably grandma asking how much longer we'll be." Nancy Ishida reached into the bottomless pit that was her purse, taking a quarter of the time to locate her cell phone that a man would have taken with the amalgam of pointless junk women carry in their bags. She filled the device open with one hand, seeing "mom" on the caller ID and placing it to her ear. "Hi mom… yes, we're on our way… We're almost there, we're just about to exit the highway… Yes, the boys are excited to see you." Nancy flicked her signal on to exit, mind in two places at once as she drove on the off-ramp. "No, Hiroaki had to work… He's a busy man, mom… He loves you, he just doesn't have as much free time now that the boys are starting to grow up." Nancy Ishida flicked on her left-turn signal at the stop sign at the bottom of the off-ramp, only checking to the right, cell phone distracting her train of thought. She began to pull out when an approaching blare of a car horn sounded and suddenly, the driver-side was impaled by and on-coming pickup truck._

* * *

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" Matt Ishida shot straight up in bed, shirtless body glistening with a cold sweat in the moonlight entering through his window, pale white scars tingling at what he'd just relived. Chest heaving, he ran a hand through his bed-head hair. _It's that memory again…_ Glancing to his room's desk, Matt saw his alarm clock, the red glow formed into 12:47. Hiroaki would have been home already if it hadn't been for a few lay-offs to happen at the TV station, giving the poor man extra work.

"Yamato?" The boy's heart skipped a beat at the sound of his name. The light was switched on, bathing the room in its iridescent glow. A soft groan escaped the blonde as his eyes burned from the sudden need to adjust. "Yamato… what's wrong?" A pressure appeared on his bed, near his feet.

Blinking away blurriness, the form at the foot of his bed morphed into the woman who'd given birth to him. "M-Mom!" He nearly broke down from the combination of his memory and the woman being there in front of him. "I… I had a bad dream…" He didn't like to worry her, so he kept his issue vague.

"Has something been bothering you?" Her forehead crinkled in concern for her eldest son, reaching up and brushing a stray lock of hair from his blue eyes. Nancy's flaxen hair made it obvious where her son's had come from, despite hers being just the slightest bit wavy and Matt's being straight and formed, much like his father.

"Well… yes and no…" Escaping into his fantasy world of baton-waving and hand twirling had proven much more difficult the past few days. "There's this guy at school…" Matt's voice took on a hint of malice at the mention.

"Ooh! Do you have a crush on him?" Nancy Ishida loved her son; gay, straight, transsexual, there's no reason she would have stopped. "Does he make your heart skip a beat?" She smiled, partially joking.

"No!" The boy defended himself, glaring at her for even believing such a ridiculous notion. "No, he asked me out a few days ago and I told him no. Now, I just catch him staring at me every chance he gets. And you know how I am… I don't like when people do that when I can't tune them out." Nancy was the only person aside from his brother that Matt would open up to about his issues. Not even Hiroaki, his own father, was allowed to hear his woes.

"Well, have you spoken to him and asked him to stop?" Talking was always the best option. "You can't expect him to know what you're thinking just by glaring at him." Nancy was always the word of wisdom in her family.

"I know, but I don't WANT to talk to him. I don't want to talk to anybody. I just want to get through school and work on my guitar." His cerulean orbs drifted quickly to the acoustic guitar not five feet from his bed, standing against a wall.

"You told me before that you wanted to start a band and become famous. Now you just want to go solo?" The woman supported her son's dreams; no matter how "irresponsible" others may have believed her to be as a parent.

"I still want to be famous. I just don't like people…" Matt's voice gradually became a whisper toward the end of the sentence. "Especially teenagers. They're just so…" Without words to describe his distaste, the boy just stuck his tongue out.

Nancy couldn't help but giggle at her son's expression. "You do realize you're a teenager, right?" Matt rolled his eyes incredulously, eliciting another giggle from his mother. "If you don't like people, how do you expect to be a famous guitarist? Fame is all about making people like you. How do you plan on doing that when you won't give anybody a chance to even get to know you?" The woman always had a way of making her point, no matter what the topic of conversation was.

"Mom, I've tried before… it's always blown up in my face. People don't change their attitudes just because we move." Whether to cover his shirtless body or because he wanted something close to him, Matt picked up his pillow and pressed it close to his chest for comfort. "You know why…"

"Matt? I'm home. Finally got everything sorted out…" The tuckered out voice of Hiroaki Ishida smashed Matt's illusion, realizing he was still in a pitch black room, no mother there to speak to him, the light never having been turned on and no imprint from the woman having sat at his feet. His pillow was back on the bed, him lying down, facing away from his bedroom door just seconds before his father knocked to check on him. He feigned sleep and Hiroaki left without a second thought.

Silently, the boy began to weep. Not only for his late mother, but brother as well. Tears stained his pillow, the crystal clear image of Nancy Ishida as she'd been: sitting at the foot of his bed, eyes showing brightly in the light with a smile ever present upon her visage. She was truly the epitome of love and happiness.

* * *

"Ishida?... Matt Ishida?" The portly World History teacher glanced up from his class roster to the blonde's usual seat, finding it devoid of a certain boy. "Hmm… absent." He went on to the next name on the list.

"Matt's not here today?" Tai turned to his red head best friend who shrugged in response so the brunette turned to find the boy's seat as empty as their teacher had found it. "Do you… think I scared him off?"

"Considering you practically stare at him as if there's nothing else in the world, I'd say you're guess would be as good as mine." Sora pointed out, fiddling with a pencil between her fingers.

"Kamiya?" The teacher called out.

"Here!" Tai raised his hand and was acknowledged. "Do you think I went too far with him?"

"Tai, you're talking about a kid with severe emotional, social and psychological problems who has probably never had another guy like him as much as you seem to. Add that to the fact that all you do is stare at him, I'd say he's a tad overwhelmed." Her understatement did little to stifle Tai's worrisome attitude.

The soccer captain stuck his face in his hands, letting out a sigh of grief. "God… what is this kid doing to me? He's the first guy I haven't been able to get out of my head and we've barely ever spoken. And because of that, I'm so interested that I scare him off… I'm such a wreck…" He let go of his head and let it *BONK* against the desk he was seated at, letting out an "ow!"

"It IS possible that he's just sick or something. I mean, given what we know about him, I'm surprised he's come to school everyday so far." Sora scoffed.

"What do you mean by that?" Tai peeked a chocolate eye up to the girl with ginger hair.

The tennis player shrugged, mulling over her own words for a moment. "Well, with kids like this, it's usually an on and off basis of whether they're gonna be in class. Kids with illnesses are usually that way when you look at prior experience."

"That's kinda mean, Sora." Tai pointed out with a rather defensive tone. "Just because he's mentally ill doesn't mean he chooses when he will and won't come to school. He could just have days that are really bad for him."

"Takenouchi?" Their teacher caught Sora's attention this time.

"Here!" She was nodded at by the teacher as he moved on. "I'm not saying that's not the case. I'm just saying that he COULD be one of those kids who purposefully stays home from school just cuz he feels like it. I'm not saying he IS, just saying he might be."

"I don't think he'd do that…" Tai retorted quietly.

"And you're basing this assumption on what? The two minute scolding he gave you for being a jock? The creepy stalker-like staring you do to him?" Sora shot back at him, rather venomously.

"No, I just don't think he'd do that is all… Look, I don't want to talk about this anymore." Tai turned his attention to the front, blocking Sora out of his mind for the time being.

"Whatever Tai, but you're the one that brought the whole thing up in the first place." She was honestly trying to help her friend get over this boy, but if he was going to be a dick about it, what was the point?

* * *

**KeruKeru: So, I know that was rather short, but I felt A LOT was explained in this chapter. From why Matt's mother and brother aren't with him and his dad to how Matt feels both about Tai and people in general and how Tai and Sora are reacting to each other with Tai being as head-over-heels as he is about the boy that stood up to him. Hopefully my next few chapters will be longer, but I can't promise anything. :P Please review and tell me what you think. ^-^**


	4. Chapter 4

**4. A Voice Singing In My Head**

**KeruKeru: Hello everyone. I'm here with the next chapter of Delusional Requiem. So, it wouldn't be a KeruKeru Taito fic without at least one song and this chapter will be one of a few that contain specific songs that I think best fit the situation in which they're sang. So, for this song, play close attention to some of the lines because I've given the part to that character specifically for some of the things in their part of the duet. I suggest you also look up the song on YouTube to get the feel of it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own or claim to own "Little Talks"; it's the soul property of the band Of Monsters and Men. I also don't own Digimon. :P Also, I don't know Chikao or Ryu as they belong to Psycho Weasel and her fabulousness.**

* * *

"Ishida…? Matt Ishida?" The portly history teacher glanced up from his attendance sheet and let a half-smile fall upon his lips. "Ah, good to see you're back, you'll have to make your assignments up for the last couple days. I hope you're feeling well."

"I am." It was a collective gasp throughout the room. Many students, due to gossip spreading like a wildfire, had heard tell of Tai Kamiya's encounter with the Ishida, but nobody else had heard him speak before. Eyes evaded the boy at all costs; assuring nobody was pointed out at having joined in their class breath.

"Well, that's good to hear." The shock on the older man's face was hard to miss. He'd never heard the boy speak either, despite minor attempts at calling on him to answer a question; after a bit, he'd just halted all further attempts. "Now where was I…? Jakera?"

"Did you hear that?" Sora elbowed her desk neighbor, joining in the hushed whispers around them. "He actually said something!" Matt's voice seemed to send the entire class into a state of unrest that the teacher was either reluctant or too apathetic to bring to an end.

"You forget, I've heard him talk, it's not new to me." Tai grumbled, still rather angry with the girl who was supposed to be his best friend. "Do you not remember our lunch time 'chat'?" He placed air quotes around the word "chat".

The tennis player rolled her eyes with a shake of her head. "Still, it's the first time I'm hearing it, as well as anybody else."

"I suppose." What was eating the boy today? What had Sora done when she hadn't spoken to him since the first day Matt had been gone. They'd been trying to avoid each other due their difference in opinion over Matt's absence.

"Are you gonna be on your man-period the rest of the year? I've got tampons in my bag if you need them." The red head smirked, lifting the brunette's head from its place on the desk in front of him.

"I'm not on my 'man-period', I'm just bummed. I still think it was my fault he was gone." Tai removed his friend's hand from his forehead and layed it right back on the desk again with a heavy sigh.

"You could always ask him, ya know. Or maybe apologize for being a stalker?" Sora began listing off suggestions from the top of her head until Tai's hand shot up to silence her.

"Alright, I get it. I'll talk to him at lunch." He conceded.

"Good." Sora felt quite proud of herself.

* * *

"You're not ACTUALLY going to talk to him again, are you?" Ryu stared at his captain, shocked at the news he'd just heard. "Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"Vividly, but I can't help but wonder if it was my fault he's been gone the last couple days. I mean, he looked fine on Tuesday… or at least as fine as usual… and suddenly he's gone the next day?" Granted, it wasn't the greatest "proof" in the world, but it was enough for Tai to find suspicious.

"Maybe he got a stomach virus from something he ate?" Chikao let out a suggestion, a soft blush ever-evident on his cheek as he and Ryu were holding hands under the table. "I know I wouldn't come to school if I had one."

"I guess it's possible, I'm gonna go ask him anyway." Tai pushed out his chair and slowly paced over to the boy he'd been enamored with since first laying eyes on him.

Matt sat alone, sandwich in hand. The only differences from the norm were that his hands weren't swaying in the air as if conducting an orchestra, they were tentatively assuring every article of foodstuffs remained in its desired place in front of him and he only had one earphone in. "Hi…" Tai waved, attracting the attention of the lone blonde. He sat down, knowing Matt wouldn't agree if he'd been asked. The only form of recognition he received was Matt's icy blue eyes closing in on him, ripping into his soul and discovering all his secrets. "So, I know you were gone for a couple days. I was wondering if it was because of me…"

Swallowing a miniscule bit of his sandwich, the blonde closed his eyes, obviously tensing at something or other. "Partially, yes, but mostly no. I had something I… had to work out." When Matt's eyes opened this time, they weren't looking directly at Tai, just off into space away from the brunette.

"Oh… well, for the part that was because of me, I'm sorry." He smiled remorsefully.

Matt smirked with a soft chuckle to follow. "No you're not." The blonde shook his head, still smirking. "Maybe you've fooled yourself into feeling regret, but deep down, you couldn't care less."

Tai sat for a moment, wide-eyed in shock, reminiscent of the rude words he'd been dished the previous time he spoke with Matt. "No, I'm truly sorry. Something about you just… intrigues me." He answered truthfully.

"As much as you wish you could believe that, it's not true. You're only saying sorry because you think it'll make me fall as head-over-heels for you as asking me out was supposed to. And now that I'm not falling for your plan, you're trying to make up more bull shit so I'll return your erection affection." He was feeling rather proud of his own analysis of the situation.

The soccer player was left reeling, drinking in the blonde's words as if they were a thick milkshake. Was he really just doing this to get into his pants? No, of course not. Tai was too prideful to apologize for some stupid reason, he had to feel like he'd done wrong in order to apologize and mean it. "Why is it so difficult for you to believe that I'm being serious and actually apologizing?" A hint of malice was etched into his voice; this boy aggravated him beyond belief.

"You jocks are all the same. When someone turns you down, you jump at the next chance that you think they'll be vulnerable and pretty much stick your dick in them right off the bat." He munched on another bite of his crust-less sandwich. Obviously, subtlety was not one of the Ishida's strong points.

"For your information, I've… never actually SLEPT with anyone." There, that would put this pompous ass in his place.

"Oh, well, that I'll take back. But you still have yet to deny that all you want is to sleep with me, virgin or not. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my lunch in peace," He said curtly, adding: "Assuming I can find any in this place," under his breath before placing the other ear phone in and closing his eyes, shutting out the world around him easily.

Tai stared dejectedly at the blonde across from him. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Matt was right. He'd never said he wasn't interested in sleeping with him. The soccer player stood, defeated and left to return to Chikao and Ryu.

Both boys watched their leader's expression and exchanged a glance of concern before Ryu spoke what they were both thinking. "Tai's got a problem."

* * *

After school had let out, instead of leaving for home, Matt headed for the school's band room where many instruments were stored for the students to play. That morning, he'd left his acoustic guitar for the teacher to look after and simply asked permission to come by after school and practice. He knew what would happen if he played at home: his mother or brother would interrupt him. The instructor had agreed, informing Matt that she had a meeting after school and would leave her keys on her desk for Matt to lock up when done.

He now sat, guitar in hand, strumming it to tune its strings. Across his face he had a soft smile in place of the usual scowl or hard line.

"I'll be right back, you can't start without the captain!" A certain brunette called back to their team's coach, walking in the opposite direction of the man. As he passed the music room, normally empty at this time, the strumming noises of a guitar being tuned make him stop. He peered inside and found the familiar blonde head, his guitar in his lap. He was sat facing away from the door, luckily for Tai.

When finally deciding the sound was perfect, Matt took out his iPod an unlocked it with a swipe. Tai assumed he was going to play along with a song on there, but what came from the device was a quick ticking noise; a metronome for keeping time. Bofore Tai could figure out what was going to happen, Matt began playing a specific tune as the world around him melded with his own fantasy. Around him say a band of three other boys and a girl with purple streaks in her auburn hair, all of them had instruments in hand aside from the girl.

_Hey!_

_Hey!_

_Hey!_

Tai recognized the song instantly, it was a very specific instrumental and seemed somehow fitting.

Matt: I don't like walking around this old and empty house.

Matt sang vividly, his emotions clear and consice.

_Tai/Runi: So hold my hand, I'll walk with you my dear_

Tai sang softly to himself, unaware completely that in Matt's mind, this part was being taken by the purple-streaked girl

Matt: The stairs creak as I sleep,  
it's keeping me awake  
Tai/Runi: It's the house telling you to close your eyes

Matt: Some days I can't even dress myself.  
Tai/Runi: It's killing me to see you this way.

Tai silently pondered if Matt meant for this to sound as if he were singing this about himself; if he was, then it definitely killed Tai on the inside to not be able to help.

_All: 'Cause though the truth may vary  
this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore._

Matt's hand strummed out the instrumental, fingers gliding skillfully over the neck of the guitar with each changing chord, pitch and strum.

Hey!

_Hey!_

_Hey!_

_Matt: There's an old voice in my head_  
_that's holding me back_  
_Tai/Runi: Well tell him that I miss our little talks._

Granted, Tai's conversations with Matt didn't last long, but it was the thought that counted.

_Matt: Soon it will all be over, buried with our past  
Tai/Runi: We used to play outside when we were young  
and full of life and full of love._

_Matt: Some days I feel like I'm wrong when I am right._  
_Tai/Runi: Your mind is playing tricks on you my dear._

That statement was all too right, both to Tai and the blonde playing.

_All: 'Cause though the truth may vary  
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore_

_Hey!_  
_Tai/Runi: Don't listen to a word I say_  
_Hey!_  
_All: The screams all sound the same._  
_Hey!_

_All: Though the truth may vary_  
_this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore_

Another instrumental came as Tai reflected on the words he and Matt had been singing and how it made sense they'd been singing those parts of the duet. It was odd how real a song could be and you don't even realize it.

_All: You're gone, gone, gone away,  
I watched you disappear.  
All that's left is a ghost of you.  
Now we're torn, torn, torn apart,  
there's nothing we can do,  
Just let me go, we'll meet again soon._

_All: Now wait, wait, wait for me, please hang around_  
_I'll see you when I fall asleep._

Matt let a lonely tear trail down his cheek, that line always bringing his mother and brother to mind when he thought or sang it, but he didn't falter in his playing.

_All: Hey!  
Don't listen to a word I say  
Hey!  
The screams all sound the same.  
Hey!_

_All: Though the truth may vary_  
_this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore_

_All: Hey!_  
_Don't listen to a word I say_  
_Hey!_  
_The screams all sound the same._  
_Hey!_

_Though the truth may vary_  
_this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore_

_this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore_

_this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore_

As the song closed, Tai couldn't deny a tightness in his chest. This boy before him; he was frustrating beyond belief, constantly degrading when he had no right to judge others and anything else that would piss a normal person off. And yet, at the end of the day, the brunette wanted him more than anything in the world. The blonde was a sort of enigma. He didn't care what kind of problems he may or may not have, he was the essence of perfection to Tai.

For Matt, the song always made him think of his late sibling and mother. They were the source of his hallucinations; what he sees when he goes to sleep. They're there when he's in need of someone to talk to, but gone just as instantaneously as they arrive. There was nobody inside his world and he liked it that way, despite his lonesomeness always begging those two to appear. There was no denying; he needed someone.

* * *

**KeruKeru: So, kind of a quick ending, but I didn't know where to go after the song. I feel like the song said a lot. If you didn't get everything, please look at the song again as it's almost more important than the rest of the story. X3 Matt was singing about his schizophrenia and his mom and TK, while Tai's parts were all about helping Matt get over those problems and lead a normal life. As you can see, this is why I had them singing those specific parts. Well, please review. :3**


	5. Chapter 5

**5. Day Dreamers Anonymous**

**KeruKeru: Okay, so here I am. FINALLY getting back to this story. I can give you all some bullshit apology about how I was busy with school and stuff, but the real truth is that I got lazy, cushioning myself on the fact that I knew what I wanted to happen and that I could get back to it easily. Really, I've gotten so into the habit that this is even seeming tedious to write... Well, hopefully I won't screw up again.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. As well, the characters Tatsuo and Hiko/Kazuhiko belong to harathor, while Psycho Weasel still owns Ringo, Ryu and Chikao.**

* * *

"And then the support beam came down and almost..." He gulped, seeming to be finished. The boy had dark hair down to his shoulder, hazel eyes staring blankly at the floor beneath his uncomfortable plastic chair. He was reliving one of the most haunting moments of his life while he wrung his own scarred wrist. Or at least, he would be wringing them if the boy next to him hadn't been holding said wrist. "S-Sorry..." He couldn't speak anymore.

The boy to his immediate right held the wrist in his own lap, resting his head against the other comfortingly. "It's alright Hiko, you did really well." This boy had piercing, silver eyes and perfectly coifed brown hair that didn't reach past his forehead.

The one called "Hiko" almost snapped out of his daze instantly at the sound of his pet name and flushed a deep red at the contact. "Baka..." He muttered under his breath.

The elder of the people in the room smiled softly. "There's no need to apologize Kurohiko, we're all proud of your progress." She was a slim woman in her early-thirties, dark red/brown hair and caring green eyes that were reminiscent of granny smith apples. She almost seemed like a model, aside from the almost-unnoticeable laugh lines around her mouth. "I think with Tatsuo's help," She was referring to the silver-eyed boy. "You've come a long way." Her smile almost seemed to shine and sparkle with happiness. "Who would like to go next?"

The room was dead silent; so much so that the entire room could actually hear Tatsuo rubbing his head against his lover's shoulder in a puppy-love-like fashion. "Hmm..." She scanned over the room, suddenly remembering their newest attendee. "Yamato! Is there anything you'd like to share?"

He stayed relatively silent, barely glancing up at her to acknowledge she'd even spoken. He wasn't good with all the attention on him; not since his last encounter with Tai. Afterward, the entire school had been abuzz with the "juicy" gossip from lunchtime and was still persisting now, almost a week-and-a-half later.

A few seconds, feeling like hours, passed before the woman finally spoke once more. "Surely there's SOMETHING you'd like to talk about? How do you like Odaiba, for instance? Is it everything you've expected it to be?" It wasn't as much that she cared for an answer, not that she didn't, she was merely trying to fill the silence so it didn't make any of the other 'members' as uncomfortable as she was. "Yamato?"

"It's fine..." He answered almost in a whisper, wishing she would just shut up so he could go home to his mom and brother... oh, and his dad too. "It's everything I could have ever hoped for." His voice dripped sarcasm and came off as rude as he'd been to Tai. "Is that what you want to hear?" Flashes of that stupid fire-formed hair flashed through his mind, only serving to feed his anger like twigs on a fire.

She was prepared to deal with anger as it was typical with schizophrenics; as a mental health professional, she was trained to try and calm those with the disease. "Yamato, if something's bothering you, don't feel like you can't share it. This is an open and free space. Nothing said in this room will ever leave it."

The blonde male scoffed at such lies. "You really wanna know what's going on? Alright..." He took a deep breath, trying to quell the fire inside him for once and accomplishing so little. "I don't make friends. So, when I get home from school my brain brings my mom and brother back from the dead. On some level I know they're not real, but that doesn't ever stop me. My dad's no help because he's always working; the only assistance he ever gives me is when he knocks me back to reality and makes either mom or TK go away." His eyes were welling with tears, a few escaping despite his efforts to be appear strong and indifferent. "And on top of all that, there's this guy at school who won't leave me alone no matter how much I try to push him away. He keeps coming after me like I'm some kind of prize." He chuckled a bit ironically, as if it were some kind of sick joke. "So if that all sounds like I'm doing alright, I guess you'd know best being the expert and all."

It was difficult to tell if the room was quiet due to shock or that nobody else wanted to try following Matt, but the psychologist was certainly stricken with awe as she'd never had someone open up so quickly before. Even Kazuhiko had been a fight to the death to even start. "This boy you're talking about, do you think he may like you?"

Matt shrugged, believing he didn't actually care at all. "Who cares? He's just a dumb jock who only wants sex from anywhere he can get it."

Tatsuo shook his head at the blonde. "Don't be so sure about that. I know it's not really my place to give dating advice to someone I don't know,"

"You're right, it's not your place." Matt interrupted.

Ignoring his comment, the short-haired brunette went on. "But Hiko here thought I only wanted him for sex when I was after him. Granted, I was a bit of a womanizer... And a 'man-a-nizer'..." He chuckled nervously at his creation of the word. "But once he finally accepted that I was different and let me in... Well, here we are." He grinned, his significant other flushing a deep red and gently elbowing his boyfriend.

"Again, it's not your place to say anything about my life." The musician simply brushed off everything that had been said and moved on.

Tatsuo rolled his eyes, shrugging. "Whatever, only trying to help."

"Tatsuo... shhh..." Kazuhiko elbowed his lover a bit sharper, causing the slightly taller male to silence himself with a loud hiss.

"Yamato... do you see your mother and brother often?" Their leader had almost been forgotten until she decided to change the subject.

"Not as much as I-... She's over there..." The blonde pointed to an empty chair in their tiny circle of teenagers that had been saved for a young girl that never showed up. In his mind, there sat his mother, Nancy, her perfect, mid-thirties face; curled, blonde locks; caring blue eyes and a smile a mother could only give her offspring. She waved to her son and crossed one leg over the other, holding it at the knee when her hand joined the other. It wasn't unusual for Matt to see his mother outside of home, at least it hadn't been before moving, why now all of a sudden? "This... I haven't... I haven't seen her outside... not since we moved..."

The woman flipped to a new page on her hand-held notepad and began jotting down blurbs of notes. "Yamato, tell me, what is she doing?"

He was almost too entranced by his mother to have heard the woman. "She's... just sitting there... She's smiling at me..." The blonde blinked once and the illusion shattered, his mother was gone as quickly at she's materialized. "She's gone..."

The group leader finished her notes and read over them to make sure nothing had been missed. "Did she do anything before she le- Yamato, what are you doing?" As she spoke, the blonde had stood, taken up his backpack and was heading for the door.

"I need to go..." It was all he said before dashing from the hospital-like room his father had forced him into. He wanted to go home, to find out what his mother had wanted to say before she was so rudely cut-off.

* * *

Tai Kamiya sipped at his raspberry smoothie as he, Ryu and Chikao strolled along the streets of Odaiba. Somehow he'd been roped into going on their date as he lagged behind the two that were holding hands and ogling each other every chance they got. How did he get pulled into this again? Oh right, the smoothie was supposed his 'payment'. The Kamiya would do just about anything for some form of food, within reason of course. "So is there anywhere particular we're supposed to be going?"

"Oh hush, Tai. Just drink your smoothie." Ryu didn't even bother glancing back as it would interrupt his eye-contact with Chikao.

This affection was about to make Tai gag. "You two are so sweet it's disgusting..." He grumbled, stirring his straw around in the ice-raspberry mixture to seem like he was doing something else.

Ryu couldn't help but chuckle at his captain's 'hatred' of love. "You're just mad cuz you've been rejected twice by the same guy and you still can't get over him~" This time, he'd actually turned toward Tai as they continued walking.

"Shut up Ryu..." His face dropped to glare at the ground, another sip of his smoothie gone.

Chikao frowned at his boyfriend a bit disapprovingly. "Ryu, stop being mean to Tai... He's already sad about it." He tried not to sound like he was scolding his lover, but it was difficult not to make it sound like what it was.

"But he sai-!" The blonde placed a finger to Ryu's lips, silencing them before he scowled and tore his lips from the digit. "Ugh... fine..." None of the three had even recognized where they were or remembered what their original destination had been.

This part of town was somewhat unfamiliar to them, despite having lived in Odaiba nearly all their lives. "Where did you say we were going?" Tai finally spoke up, realizing his feet were getting tired.

"We WERE going to the park bu-... Tai, don't look." Ryu's sight cut him off. Just across the street sat the familiar blonde, blue-eyed musician that had left Tai dumbfounded twice. He was waiting for the bus that had just pulled up.

As was the situation with Matt, being told 'no' only made the Kamiya look up to find the object of his affection standing, headphones in- probably blaring some kind of music- and entering the city bus. His milky skin almost seemed to shine in the sun's partial rays as it was a bit overcast that day.

All Chikao and Ryu heard was the PLOP of Tai's smoothie hitting the sidewalk beneath them before he forced through the couple and jolted for the bus. "WATCH WHERE YOU'R- Aaaaand he's gone..." Ryu huffed. "He could have at least thrown his drink away..." The brunette bent down to pick up the cup and tossed it in a nearby receptacle. His blonde mate simply chuckled and took Ryu's hand once more for them to continue their walk.

Tai, on the other hand, has gotten to the bus just before the driver closed its doors, berating him about getting to the bus stop when he was supposed to and not making the bus late for other stops and so on. The soccer play just paid his fee and tried to find the Ishida he was so infatuated with. As he suspected, there in the back, as secluded from anybody else on the bus as could be, was Matt. One his shoulder-length blonde locks could be seen over the seat as he seemed to have his forehead on the seat in front of him, which was conveniently unoccupied.

The bus started forward and almost threw Tai to the ground if not for a safety bar he'd grabbed at the last second. Holding himself up, he walked to the back of the bus, taking a seat in the opposite side of the aisle so Matt wouldn't see him. Sure enough, the Ishida's head was pressed firmly against the seat in front; his mouth seemed to be moving. Was he singing something? Tai couldn't hear anything; maybe just mouthing the words? Either way.

During their ride to, what Tai assumed was, Matt's home, the brunette would only stare at the blonde for a few seconds at a time and only out of the corner of his eye. He figured his crush would be a whizz at knowing when others were staring at him, so he spaced it out so as not to alert the Ishida. At least until, finally, they reached Matt's stop and the blonde rose, just seeming to stare off into space as he left his seat, Tai leering after him and standing once the blonde was off the bus. He pursued Matt, taking after him as if he were some kind of spy for Her Majesty's Secret Service.

At once particular moment, Matt almost felt like he was being watched, maybe followed? It forced him back to the reality he'd be trying to avoid with the music plugged in. He stopped abruptly in the middle of the walkway, an elderly couple nearly ramming into him and narrowly escaping. Without even noticing the man or woman, he turned to look back. Only a few people were on the sidewalk, none in fact were even remotely paying attention to him. It must've been his imagination.

In a matter of seconds, Tai had jumped into the alcove of a doorway, much to the surprise of those who were actually just outside the door having a conversation before they scrambled inside and locked it. The brunette paid them no mind as he barely peeked around the corner, watching his obsession look around before finally continuing on his way. Tai had to be more careful. He let a longer gap come between them before following him once more, determined to keep the blonde in his sights.

* * *

No longer believing he was being followed, Matt arrived at his apartment and scurried to open the door and get inside just as the elevator door opened to reveal Tai. He'd watched what floor Matt's elevator had stopped to be sure. The slamming of a door brought Tai's attention to the fourth door on the left of the hall of apartments. Was he really going to see his crush outside of school and disrupt his privacy? Of course he was!

Almost hurling his backpack at the couch, Matt ripped his headphones from his ears and stood, waiting for the apparition to come. "Looking for someone?" The blonde jumped, seeing his mother sitting at the kitchen table, coffee mug in one hand, cheesy romance novel in the other. He could never understand what she found so fascinating about them; or how she'd learned to turn the page with one hand, but she did.

"Mom... that wasn't... you can't..." He couldn't find a way to tell his mother, the woman he cherished so much, that she couldn't visit him. "Hi..."

"Matt, you know it's not my fault right? I can't control when your mind dreams me up." She spoke in such a soothing tone, it must have been what the smell of fresh-baked cookies sounded like. "Besides, it seems like it helped your group instructor when you told her you saw me." There she went, finding some kind of weird bright side to everything.

He couldn't deny he was over the moon to see her, but there was just something weird. "This always happens... I start to get comfortable somewhere and then... You and TK start showing yourselves in public..." This was all too much to deal with right now. "It just doesn't help with... my condition... I already cut myself off from everyone... When I start talking to people who aren't there..."

"I know it must be difficult, dear, but neither TK or I can help it. You think of us when you're stressed over something." Her smile curved down, a bit saddened that she could be the cause for her son's cut-off from the world. "I'm sorry..."

"N-No! You can't... You can't just show up and pretend like apologizing will make everything alright!" He raised his voice, unaware he even had these feelings inside him, especially toward Nancy. "Y-You left me! You and TK left me alone! This is all your fault! I'm like this because of you! I-I can't have friends because you left!"

Nancy Ishida was surprised at her son's sudden rage. He was saying everything she feared. She'd been trying to rationalize it to blame Matt's Schizophrenia, but was it really her fault? "I'm... sorry to hear you think so Matt..." He'd never seen her cry as those gleaming eyes were always filled with such love and joy, however, they were only dulled, lifeless orbs now as she stood, leaving the room so her son couldn't see her cry.

With the illusion gone, Matt's ears tuned in on the knocking at the front door. Who was here that couldn't get in?

* * *

Tai looked on at the door as if it was the keeper of his future. Could knocking on the blonde's door, admitting to basically stalking him and trying to talk really just make Matt fall madly in love with him? Well, maybe it wouldn't go that far... At the most, Tai could only hope he didn't get the police called on him or something thrown at him. So why was it so difficult to knock? It was like his arm had suddenly turned to lead and wouldn't rise, even if to just do something as simple as bang on a door.

There was a sudden bout of yelling from the other side of the apartment door. Who could Matt be talking to? Was he with his dad? No, there was no response, at least not one Tai could make out. This sudden distraction brought his knuckle up to rap at the solid wood. "Matt? It's Tai... from school?" He wasn't sure if the blonde even remembered him. The door flew open with the blonde, blue-eyed dream with the perfect skin, but... something was wrong. His eyes were bloodshot and tears stained his cheeks. Was he crying? "Umm... are you alright?"

"N-No... Y-Yes... It's none of your concern!" This boy clearly had some sort of anger pent up inside of him that had yet to be released on whomever he had been shouting at. "What are... are you doing he-ere?"

How could anybody very well inform the object of their affection that they'd been stalking them and still not come off as creepy. "Well I... Uhhh..." At least Tai was pretty.

"I don't really care... just go home... I don't want to talk to anybody... Least of all, you!" If Tai had been any closer to the door, it would have broken his nose with the force with which it was slammed, coming close to knocking the door frame off the wall had it been any harder. That was rejection number three...

* * *

**KeruKeru: Wow, so this is like my first update in... five months... Well, hopefully I don't turn into MrGooseyMoose and update only once a year. Anyway, I think I have a good idea for the next chapter as well, hopefully it won't take as long to sit down and write, but I won't make any promises... Oh, and Happy Singles' Awareness Day!**


	6. Chapter 6

**6. Brainsick Ballad**

**KeruKeru: Hmm... so... yeah... I guess on the bright side, it was only four months this time! That... doesn't really make it any better... Anyway... this chapter takes place immediately after the previous one. Well, on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Also, I AM NOT A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. Anything I seem to know about schizophrenia and (as will become clear in this chapter) results of treatments for it come from the internet, or I have made them up. Please don't think I truly know what may happen if someone is schizophrenic or how they will react to those drugs used to help it. As well, I don't own Ryu, Chikao and Ringo.**

* * *

The teenage blonde was curled in a ball, back against the apartment's front door, knees in his chest, sobbing. He'd just sent his mother away and she was... crying. He knew she was... NO! That's not my mother... she's just... an image...

"Matt?" The small voice brought Matt from his stupor, eyes bloodshot as they followed the noise to a young boy's head poking out from the apartment's kitchen. The boy, noticing his brother looking up, came closer and got to his knees in front of Matt. "Mommy's crying... I... I don't know what's wrong. Did you and mommy have a fight?" TK was on the verge of tears, himself. He was only six, after all. He hated it when people were sad.

Matt reached up and grabbed hold of the door knob, using it hoist himself to his feet. This needed to end. It was too much for him to handle. "It's... nothing..." His eyes had gone back to their soulless, hollow form, still pink and watery, however. "She'll be fine, TK." He assured the figment of his imagination.

The younger boy sniffled, getting to his feet as well. "B-But she's really sa-sad! What di-... Matt, what are you doing?" As TK spoke, his brother had begun moving, heading for the bathroom. It was like watching a newly-built robot learning how to walk. The teen stumbled a bit, holding the walls as he went for the bathroom.

"Just leave her be, Takeru..." Matt's voice had lost that joy it once had whenever he spoke to his brother, not even giving the young boy a second glance as he entered the bathroom. "It'll all be over soon..." His hands rummaged through the medicine cabinet, something had been buried rather far back, behind some hair-care products. It was a small, orange pill bottle. "It'll all be over soon..." He spoke once more, opening the bottle.

"M-Matt... what are you doing?!" Forgetting his mother for the time being, TK could only assume the worst for his brother. "D-Don't do it..." The boy fell to the ground, tears drenching his face as he pounded at the floor with his fists. "NO NO NO! D-Don't do it, Yamato!" The boy's nose was running as if it were crying too.

Disregarding his brother, Matt turned the bottle and shook it. "I have to, Takeru... it all needs to end..." He placed his hand to his mouth and swallowed the pills that fell in.

* * *

"Helloooooooooooooooo~ Earth to Tai! Come in, Tai!" The red head was poking at her best friend with a pencil, the sharp end jabbing into his scalp. "TAI! WAKE UP!" She jammed the pencil into his head, making sure it didn't draw blood, but hurt him enough to knock him out of his funk.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL?!" He cried, hands immediately going to protect the now-tender area, whimpering a bit like a puppy. "God damn it, Sora... You could've just said something..."

The girl sweatdropped. "I've been calling your name the past two minutes... What's up with you? You're a lot sulk-ier than you've been; and lately, that's saying something." She giggled, twirling the pencil she just stabbed Tai with.

The Kamiya grumbled, still rubbing his sore spot. "Nothing..."

"What'd Matt do this time?" Sora felt awfully proud of herself, not that it was all that difficult to discern.

Tai cursed her under his breath for having such an easy time reading him. "I followed him the other day..."

"If that's not one of the creepiest things I've heard... OW!" Tai had rolled up their packet of work and swatted Sora on the forehead with it, partially in retaliation for the pencil and partially for what she'd just said.

"You want to know what happened; shut up and I'll tell you." The brunette spoke in a bit of a huff. "Anyway... I was with Chikao and Ryu; we were walking and saw Matt coming out of some... clinic, I think." The fact that Tai had noticed anything but the blonde astounded Sora. "So, I followed him to the bus and got on, then followed him when he got off. He almost caught me, but then he kept going and I ended up at his apartment." Tai's face had suddenly gone from "sulky" to "weirded out". "Then, when I got to the door... he was yelling at someone but... I couldn't hear anybody reply. So, I knocked and when he opened the door... it looked like he'd been crying and... I didn't see anybody in the apartment with him." It looked as though Tai wanted to say something else, but Sora let it slide.

"That IS kinda weird... but you did kinda choose a weird kid to want to stalk, so... OW! Quit it!" Sora had received another swat with the rolled up packet.

"He's not weird! He's just... misunderstood..." The soccer star placed his head on his desk, wishing he could stop thinking about his rejector.

"If you're trying to avoid Matt, you shouldn't look up..." Sora whispered, only making Tai lift his head all the more. "At least... I think it's him..."

In the doorway stood the Ishida, but rather than his usual blank expression, he had a bit of a cock-eyed, embarrassed smile, panting a bit from having run to class. "I-I'm sorry for being late, sir..." He bowed politely to the teacher. "I forgot to set my alarm..."

The older man didn't speak, mostly out of shock for seeing anything but a lifeless face on the boy. "It's... alright..." He nodded, gesturing for the blonde to sit down in his normal spot. The classroom was suddenly abuzz with whispers of the suddenly-changed blonde that had, only just yesterday, seemed as if he wanted to murder each one of them.

Ignoring the teacher's gesture for his seat in the corner, Matt opted for the empty seat behind Sora, sliding in with a wave at both her and Tai. "Good morning, you two." He grinned, blue eyes actually sparkling.

"Who are you and what have you done with Matt?!" Sora was first to speak, her expression being a floored one and words coming out fast. On the other hand, Tai was practically drooling at those wonderful eyes he'd only ever seen as dark and depressing. "Tai!" Sora growled, jabbing him in the head with her pencil once more.

"Ouuuuuuch!" He pouted again, rubbing the new tender spot. "I-I'm sorry I just... can't stop staring at his eyes..." The brunette was transfixed by the sapphires in Matt's head, making the Ishida blush profusely.

"Uhh... thanks, Tai..." He hid his face with a book, trying to make the blood leave it. "I-I know I don't seem like my usual self but... I don't really want to discuss it..." He looked to Sora who had been the one to blurt her question.

She too flushed a beet red color. "Sorry... it's just such a shock... I've... never seen you smile before is all!" The tennis player smiled despite her embarrassment. "You look so much nicer when you smile." She blurted once more, immediately covering her mouth for fear of how quickly Matt could turn back.

He just simply brushed a few stray hairs back into place and smiled, very aware that Tai was still gawking at him. "You think so? It's just... been so long since I've felt like this..." That's a lie, what about when you talked to TK? Matt ignored the voice in his head, paying more attention to the others.

Tai sighed, exploring the depths of those wonderful pools of blue. "Your eyes are so beautiful~" He cooed.

Sora just rolled her own red-orange orbs and, as if on cue, the bell for lunch rang. Students bustled out of the classroom, still whispering to each other about the "new" student's attitude. The redhead had decided she'd rather have lunch than watch Tai gawk at his love interest. "See ya 'round, Tai." The brunette didn't even hear her.

"Umm... Tai...?" Matt reached forward to knock at his forehead, bringing Tai back from his exploration of the blonde's eyes. "Shouldn't we get going to lunch?" He smiled once more, seeming to light up the classroom for Tai who only nodded and stood.

He offered his hand to the object of his affection. "Would you mind if I walked you to lunch?" The musician's shaky hand came out as he nodded, standing to meet the Kamiya's hand with his own.

"If you really want to..." He let Tai lead the way, no longer finding annoyance in the babble of students around them; it was a complete 180-degree turn. You're so gross... That voice again.

* * *

Ryu, Chikao and Ringo were silent, afraid they might unleash the wrath of Matt upon their souls as he had joined them, thanks to Tai. They all just ate in silence, or at least most of them ate. Tai was too busy nuzzling against the Ishida, complementing his eyes while Matt just sat, a perpetual blush over his cheeks.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" The sudden shout had brought Tai back from lala land. It had been Ryu, Chikao trying to quiet him. "What is wrong with you?! Why are fucking with Tai like this?!" The shy blonde to his right tried elbowing his love to keep him quiet, but it did nothing.

"Ryu, stand down." Ringo warned him, knowing this wouldn't end well if he kept going.

Matt lowered his head, staring at the table, regretting his decision to sit at this table. "I... I'm sorry..." He spoke meekly, biting his lip.

"Ryu... please sit down..." Chikao pleaded, tugging at Ryu's shirt.

"No, I'm not gonna sit down! He's been pissing me off since he got here!" The shorter brunette exclaimed.

Tai placed his arm in front of the Ishida, as if shielding him from Ryu's words. "Ryu, as your captain, I'm ordering you to stop harassing Matt. He's done nothing to you." Tai spoke gruffly. "If you have a problem, you bring it to me."

Ryu rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you're the one who's been messed up over this whole thing with him. YOU'RE the one he's insulted. I don't see why you're forgiving him just because he's all of a sudden 'nice'." The boy used air-quotes around 'nice'. "He doesn't even seem like the same person. I bet that whole dark, antisocial thing is just a ruse to get guys interested in him."

The chair behind Matt nearly rammed into a passing a girl as he stood, taking up his bag and leaving the table. This wasn't how it was supposed to go... why was he still so unliked?

"Yeah, leave. You know I'm ri- *SMACK*" Ryu clutched his reddening cheek, hissing in pain from the blow just dealt to him by, "Chiako?!" He gasped.

"I told you to stop, Ryu. You gave me no other option." The blonde pinched the bridge of his nose. "Listen, love. I know you may not like Matt, I don't either, honestly. I hate seeing what it's been doing to Tai. But they both seem like they're better now. They're eating lunch together! As his friends, we kinda owe Tai the respect to make his own decisions regardless of our own feelings. Plus, I'd rather not have to run the extra laps you'll have to after school for making Matt leave." Chikao sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest in a huff. His boyfriend got on his knees, nuzzling into Chikao's leg and begging forgiveness like the puppy he really was.

Meanwhile, Tai had gone off after the blonde he liked, thankful he hadn't gone far. Matt was beneath a loan cherry blossom tree that had grown in the middle of the school's campus grounds. The blonde was leaning against it, sniffling when Tai approached. "Hey..."

Matt's eyes shot open, that look Tai remembered vividly from the other day; bloodshot eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "I'm... sorry I've caused you so much trouble..." The blonde's head remained lowered, not really wanting to look at the boy he'd hurt so much. "To tell you the truth... I really liked you... I just... have a funny way of showing it..."

Tai caught the musician off guard, lifting his chin with one finger so he could see those wonderful eyes. "Don't worry about it, Yama. I kinda liked it when you stood up to me. Can't say it was the most pleasing experience of my life, but I certainly like a challenge."

The blonde's blush returned, both from the contact and the nickname he'd just been given. "Y-Yama...?"

The soccer star chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well... Your name's Yamato... I just... thought I'd give you a pet name... I don't have to call you it if you don't want me to!" Tai was the one to blush now, unsure how this name would be taken.

"No, it's alright. I like it..."

"Well, in that case, would you, Yama, like to go to the movies with me tonight?" Tai grinned, a bit on the creepier side of most grins, but Matt chuckled.

"I'd love to." With that, the pair finished their lunch beneath the blossom tree.

* * *

"I'm sorry again that the movie was so bad... The first one was so good, you'd think the sequel would've been better." Tai explained his folly, he and Matt having arrived back at the blonde's apartment, just outside the door.

Matt just chuckled. "It was alright, I didn't really watch the movie..." He flushed that familiar shade of pink once more.

"I suppose being snuggled against my arm isn't the greatest way to see a movie." Tai teased, brushing a few stray hairs from Matt's face, caressing his cheek in the process.

The Ishida's face could've rivaled a tomato with how red it was. "I'm sorry I made you wait so long for this... If I had been like this when we met, we'd probably have been on a few dates by now..."

Tai raised an eyebrow, a bit insulted. "But Yama, you were worth the wait..." As his vice drifted off, Tai leaned in, leaving a quick peck on Matt's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled, leaving the stunned blonde to enter the apartment.

Once inside, the musician stroked over his cheek, the feeling of the kiss still lingered there and made his face hot with embarrassment. "You're so disgusting." That voice, it was the same one in his head, but where was it coming from? "I leave and this is what you do?" The blonde followed after that familiar voice, ending up in the bathroom, staring into the mirror. The reflection began moving. "You're an even bigger moron than that jock you're dating."

"How... How am I seeing you?! The pills... they should be keeping me from... hallucinating!" Matt panicked, picking up the pill bottle once more. 'Lasts 24 hours' was printed on the label. He still had an hour before it completely wore off. "How am I seeing you?!"

"I AM you, idiot!" The reflected Matt yelled, trying to knock some sense into his delusional half. "You can't see mom or TK yet because they're harder for your mind to conjure. You can see me because we're the same person. I've been trying to talk to you all night. I had to watch that disgusting kiss you two had just now." Mirror Matt opened his mouth and pointed his finger into it, simulating making himself sick. "God, I can't believe you really left me here. We were better off."

"No, I wasn't. I was tormented every day by mom and TK. I loved seeing them but it was just... too much. I couldn't handle it anymore. Taking the pills was my only way to get rid of them! Y-You shouldn't be here!" Matt slipped another two tablets into his mouth, knowing the effects would take effect later, but needing to be rid of the image now.

"Oh please, you remember what happened last time you tried to let someone in? You told them you saw your dead mother and brother and what'd they do? They blabbed about it to everyone in school. Isn't that why your dad moved us here?" The damn reflection was right, it knew all of his secrets because it was, in fact, him. "You can't escape your illness just because you dope yourself up. And one day, you're going to try and talk to that jock of yours and he's going to leave you just like the last one. You're both nothing but trash."

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" He screamed, fist flying into the glass with a loud CRACK. A few shards fell to the sink, distorting the reflection of Matt's fist.

"Yamato?!" Hiroaki Ishida stood in the doorway to their bathroom, staring in horror at his son's blood-soaked fist as the red liquid dripped into the sink. He'd come home just in time to hear his son scream and had dashed to the bathroom in a panic. "What happened?!" He was truly worried for his son's well-being, both mentally and physically, never having seen him act like this before.

"N-Nothing... let's just go to the hospital..." The old Matt was back...

* * *

**KeruKeru: Yes, yes, I'm aware how truly OOC Matt was in this chapter. But I've decided that his medication, while also stopping him from seeing hallucinations, make him ecstatic. Clearly, they're no miracle pill. Also, I've just realized the amount of violence in this chapter is really high... Oh well. Please review. No flames.**


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